Faithfulness in Stewardship

Transcript

GR 2346
05/08/2022
Faithfulness in Stewardship
1 Corinthians 4:1-21
Gil Rugh

We’re going to 1 Corinthians 4 in your bible. But you might turn to Romans 12 to start. That’s just a few pages before you get to 1 Corinthians. Romans 12, and this fits with where we are in the book of 1 Corinthians, what Paul is writing to the Romans in Romans 12:1-2. “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” You know, a simple statement like that, but what Paul is dealing with at the opening chapters of the book of 1 Corinthians, is the church constantly has the pressure to adjust and fit into the world in a wrong way. To allow the world to conform us. And it starts in little ways, not denying the truth, but adding the thinking of the world to what God has instructed us, and thinking we are improving what God has given. We must always be careful of adopting the world’s standards, the world’s ideas, the world’s thinking. And bringing the church along side the world, so that it fits better. It doesn’t fit. We are in two totally different realms. And that’s what Paul is reminding the Corinthians of, particularly in these first four chapters.

Why don’t you turn over now to 1 Corinthians 4, I want to just remind you of what we’ve looked at in the last part of 1 Corinthians 3. So, let me review with you what we’ve covered in verses 10-23, really and just a summary. As I’ve mentioned, when we did 1 Corinthians several years ago, we did it in much more detail. We’re going to do 1 Corinthians 4 as a unit this time. But we took several messages before. So, you can get those if you’re interested in more detail. Let me just remind you of how 1 Corinthians 3:10 and following moved on.

1. God’s grace gifts individuals to contribute to the development of the church. That was in verse 10 of chapter 3. “According to the grace of God which was given to me…. I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each must be careful how he builds.” God has gifted each individual believer to contribute in such a way, that when we function as God has gifted us to function, the church matures and grows.
2. Secondly, and this is crucial, Jesus Christ is the only foundation for the church. That’s in verse 11 of chapter 3. “No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Now, we’ve got many churches in our own city and across our country and around the world. But many churches are not building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. He is the only foundation for the church.
3. There are two kinds of materials for building, two kinds and only two kinds. This is where the church begins to get off track, because they say, well, you know these are similar, sort of alike in many ways. Verse 12, “If any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw.” You’ll note, there is just two totally different… what do you have? Silver, gold, precious stones, or wood, hay and straw. Obviously, there are two kinds of material. One will pass the test, one will not, because the test is going to be fire. If you’re building with wood, hay and straw, it will not pass the test. The precious metals and materials will.
4. This is an important one, although it begins to get a little blurry. Loss of rewards does not affect our salvation. The last part of verse 15 says, “He Himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” When what we’ve done, whether we’ve been building with the precious metals and materials that endure the fire, or with those that are burned up, our salvation is based upon faith in Jesus Christ. So, the loss of rewards will not affect our salvation. We want to be careful here, because we have some people who become extra spiritual. Well, I placed my faith in Christ, that’s all that matters, I don’t care about rewards. What do you mean, you don’t care? How can you say that you’ve place your faith in Christ, and your life belongs to Him, and you don’t care about what He says? It is important. It will not affect your eternal destiny, but it is important.
5. The local church is God’s temple indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Verse 16 of chapter 3, “Do you not know you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Talking about you as the church there, the corporate group. It’s also true He dwells in each individual. But He dwells in the church. And the individual ought to fit in the church, because the Holy Spirit is functioning in the church as He is in the individual life. So, there’s not a conflict here. This is one thing the Corinthians had to be clear on. The same Spirit indwelt them personally, indwelt the church corporately. And you note, he’s talking about an individual, local church. He’s writing to the church at Corinth. And He’s telling them that you, the church at Corinth, are a temple of the Holy Spirit. The temple of God. That’s where God’s Spirit dwells.
6. Anyone who destroys the church will be destroyed by God. That’s where he said it becomes a little bit here… we saw that loss of rewards, going forward, doesn’t affect our salvation. But point six reminds us in verse 17, “Any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him.” So, we want to be careful here. The loss of rewards don’t affect our salvation, but if you come in and are conformed externally, and you’re fitting in, but you really never experience the life-changing power of God, and so your work to destroy the church, God will destroy you, ultimately with a sentence to hell. “Anyone who destroys the church will be destroyed by God.” That’s what verse 17 makes clear. For the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. We get our attention off of what the church is, and we get mired down in individuals and personalities and issues that are not doctrinal. Pretty soon, we’re undermining the church. And then we get people, and we don’t know whether they are believers or not. Quite frankly, I don’t know where some of the people who have been part of this church, and now are not - I don’t know where they are. And ultimately, each of us has to be sure where we are in our relationship with God.
7. There is no compromise between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. That is crucial, that’s what Paul is dealing with in writing to the Corinthians. You think you’ve become extra smart, because you’re taking the church and now you’re conforming it with the wisdom of the world. So, now we’ve got something that’s really effective. It’s admired, it’s accepted by the world, yet it’s the work of God. But its not the work of God any longer. So, a transition takes place. There is no compromise between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. That’s verse 18, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.” That’s the key. What is truly God’s wisdom is not the world’s wisdom. What the world counts as wisdom, is not God’s wisdom. And he goes on through the rest of chapter 3 to elaborate on that. So, that verse 23 concluded chapter 3, “And you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” So, there is that unique relationship. And we are part of what God is doing in the world today. We cannot adjust to fit and well, you know, if we did this, we didn’t do that, we did this, we didn’t do that.

So, that’s what these first four chapters of Corinthians, after the introduction, are really about. Do we understand the church is God’s work in the world? His Spirit, the same Spirit that indwells each believer individually, indwells the church corporately. The Spirit is not working against Himself. So, the divisions that were existing in the church at Corinth, some of them were because one believer is off track and is opposed to another believer who’s off track. But some of it may be caused by the fact that there are unbelievers who just don’t fit, so you have the problems.

So, let’s look at chapter 4. He’s going to walk through, in chapter 4 that first we have to understand we’re human beings. We’re God’s servants. We’re to carryout His instructions. This is where the church, when it begins to move partly away from, it’s not just overnight - well, we just don’t believe the word of God anymore’. We begin to use the world’s wisdom and we wed it, we’re not denying anything God says, we’re just adding these things. We want to be careful, very careful.

So, verse 1 of chapter 4 opens up, “Let a man regard us in this manner.” So, let’s start with us, Paul, Apollos, Cepheus, men that are mentioned in verse 23, that were being used to divide the church. “Wait a minute, I’m of Paul, well I’m of Apollos, I’m of Cepheus, which is another name for Peter. “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ.” Let’s identify Paul, Apollos, Cepheus or whoever you’ve fallen in love with, and there’s just nobody like him. Well, we’re just servants, servant of Christ. Verse 22 of chapter 3, “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cepheus or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you. And you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” Let’s get our perspective organized here. This is God’s work through Christ, in us as individuals. So, you know, we’re all in this together, it is one because it is under one ultimate authority and leader.

Consider us “as servants (of God) of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” He uses a couple of different words here for servants in chapter 3 and chapter 4, but they come with the same idea. There’s not much difference in meaning. We serve, we belong to another who has authority over us. That’s the original idea. We have One who has authority over us. So, we are servants of Christ. So, whether you’re talking about Paul, Apollos, Cepheus or someone else who is your favorite, keep in mind that they are servants. Your ultimate service is to Christ and to God the Father, because Christ belongs to God. There is no disagreement between Christ and the Father. And if we all belong to Christ, where is the division coming from? I mentioned, and I’ll mention it again since I only have one more week to mention it, I’ll keep mentioning it, I had people that have left this church many years ago, particularly, and they kept saying, it not about doctrine, we don’t have any problem with the teaching. Well, what’s your problem? What’s the issue? I had someone who stood in the front here after an evening service, with their young son, and said, we’re leaving because we feel pressured to come on Sunday night. Well, half the congregation then didn’t come on Sunday night, less than half come, I think, now. But, if you don’t think the Lord wants you to come on Sunday nights, don’t come. Well, we feel pressured here, so we’re going to be moving to another church. I still remember it as clearly as day, it happened many years ago, Why? Maybe there are other reasons, but we want to be careful. We’re servants of Christ. We’re stewards of the mysteries of God.

Stewards of God’s mysteries. Now, here we come down, what ties us together? The mysteries of God. A mystery is not something hard to understand. It’s impossible to know it and understand it. It’s a matter of revelation. God had not revealed it before, now it has been revealed. So, Paul, as an apostle, is one of the stewards who is giving us new information. Information regarding the church. We have it as part of our bibles, 1 Corinthians, we’re studying it together. That’s part of the authority for us. We are under the authority of God, His servants, His stewards, those who He has appointed, entrusted with His ‘house law.’ That’s what the word translated ‘steward’ means. It’s from two words, house and law. It’s how God intends His family to function. He’s in charge. I remember as a young person, a teenager, having some discussions with my father, my earthly father. You know, why do I have to keep doing what… I don’t want to do that? He says, well, let me explain to you how it is in this house. When you are at a point where you can leave, start on your own, take all your responsibility, you don’t have to do what I tell you. Until then, you will do what I tell you. Otherwise, you have to pack your bags and move out. Hm, hm, well that’s what God says. Ultimately, God says, this is My house. You are a servant of Mine. You are a steward, you were entrusted in My household with information I’m giving, stewards of the mysteries of God. So, nothing has changed. Now, not everyone received new information like Paul did, but we’re all entrusted with that information, because it has been passed on to us.

Let me read you 1 Timothy 3:15, you don’t need to turn there. There, God referred to the church as His household, God’s household. “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” This is what the church about. It is the pillar and support of the truth. Says whom? God! Because He has given His truth, and the church is the pillar and support of the truth. We have been entrusted with what God has revealed and made known to men. Once a church moves from that, they simply proclaim the ideas of men and the thoughts of men. There are a number of passages we could go to, but from Corinthians here, we’re clear, Paul says, all I am is a servant. All I am is a steward of the mysteries of God. And “it is required,” verse 2, “of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” Now, note here, it’s not eloquence, its not a effectiveness, its not ableness to grow a work, its faithfulness. It’s required of faithfulness, one be trustworthy. We have absolute fidelity to the word of God. Now there may be things we could do and adjust, and we might get more people. But then I wouldn’t be a faithful steward. We’re stewards of God’s mysteries. That’s what we are as the church. It’s required of stewards, that a person be found faithful, faithful.

When people are leaving, I want to know where they’re going and be sure that they are going to another church where they are committed to the word. Well, they may not be in everything, but they are basically good. Wait a minute, what’s that mean? You’re going to go, and if the Lord leads you to another work in this city, that believes and teaches the word, fine. I’ve had people I meet in a store or along the way, and I usually ask them, well, where are you going to church now? They are former Indian Hillers, Oh, well I know you probably have a problem with them, because we’re going to . . . Yes, I do have a problem with them. What are you doing there? Well, my kids wanted to go there. What’s that got to do with it? Where in the scripture does it say, when your kids want to go someplace that’s what you do? When you are parents, when your kids are living at home, you have to do what your parents, but you know, somethings wrong. It is required of stewards that one be found faithful. That’s the basic thing we’re looking for in a steward. But to me, now what’s this mean? Paul wants to be clear here. What you think of me, doesn’t really matter, that’s what he says. Look at verse 3, “to me, it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I don’t even examine myself.” If I’m truly a servant of God, under His authority, I belong to Him, then His evaluation of me, is what matters. That’s what counts, right? It’s a very small thing, that I be examined by you. I’ve had people who have come and examined me, but I have to say, is there something that I am not doing that’s biblical? That’s the standard. I have to be faithful to God. So, this would be something I would say to you, it’s a very small thing that I be examined by you.

Now again, Paul has already made the word of God, if something as a servant I’m getting off track, then I need to be pulled back on track. That’s what Paul is doing with the Corinthians. He’s saying, you do belong to God, you have the Spirit of God. So, what do we do? Well, the doctrine, this is where I don’t know what to do when people say, ‘well, we’re leaving, but its not doctrinal.’ Well, are you going to a church that is doctrinal? That’s the only question I have, because if it’s not doctrine, you don’t like me as a person, I can understand that. Or maybe there’s another work you believe God wants you to be part of, that is solid biblically. But other than that, it’s required of stewards that one be found trustworthy, faithful. It’s not winning a popularity contest. We’re going to have a new man in the pulpit shortly. It will not be whether he fills the auditorium, whether it’s overflowing, and we go to multiple services. The number one thing will be, is he trustworthy? That’s why the board has examined him, found him trustworthy, faithful. That’s what you will encourage him to be and to do. Be faithful to the word. It’s difficult. It’s difficult on Sunday evening when most of the seats are empty. You say, well, I still have to teach the word. He’s going to teach the word. I hope maybe some of you will come on Sunday evenings that don’t. Maybe some of you have good reasons not to come. We have empty seats, I remember I used to like it when I would say, everybody from this end move to the left. Everybody from in here, move to the right. Don’t push the person off. We had benches then. And then we could put seats in. Oh, now what’s happened? I don’t know. Want to be careful that we’re still teaching the word. I want to be careful that I don’t take to my responsibility only what God can do. And that is, use His word to change a life.

“So, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy (faithful). But to me but it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.” Now, be careful here, because the next statement is, “I am conscious of nothing against myself.” But this doesn’t mean that I’m acquitted. The one who examines me is the Lord. Ultimately, His examination is the only one that matters. Paul can say, to the best of my knowledge, I’m being biblical. But that doesn’t absolve me. Ultimately, God will make the ultimate decision. So, I don’t examine myself, he can’t judge himself on the ultimate end. His motives, I’m not conscious of anything against myself, yet I’m not by this acquitted. The One who examines me is the Lord. If we put this all in perspective, it helps us get along much better. I realize the truth is the truth. That’s where I need to be focused. ‘I wish they didn’t do this; I wish they did that. I wish they didn’t do it this way; I wish they did it that way.’ Ultimately, some of these things are none of my business. It’s not something God has given me responsibility for. So, I concentrate on what He has given me responsibility for. The one who examines me is the Lord. I don’t agree with what they do here, but that’s not my responsibility. Now, we all have our own doctrinal commitments and convictions. Paul is going to spend the rest of 1 Corinthians correcting that.

Verse 5, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time. But wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” The scripture emphasizes this again and again. And we need to be reminded of it again and again. Let me read you from some passages. You can jot them down and look them up at your leisure.

From 1 Samuel 16:7, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” That’s what Paul says toward the end of verse 5, “He will bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts.” So, its not just what I do, its why I do it.

Jeremiah 17:10, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” Seriousness. I want to be careful as best I can, to examine my own motives. But I want to be careful that my motives don’t lead me contrary to the word of God. Then I’m off track.

Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” This is important in light of what Paul has said up through the first three chapters. And what we read in summarizing verses 10 and following of chapter 3. What? He's concerned about the church. You’ll note the problems and the attacks that are coming are not coming from without. The issues that Paul is dealing with are internal issues in the church. Now, something is wrong. Because there is one Spirit of God, who indwells the church, who indwells each individual, and yet, the church at Corinth had fractured. And they thought, ‘well, I’ll call Paul my leader, I’ll call Apollos my leader’, or others. He’s going to say, he uses Paul and Apollos as examples, but the point is the same. ‘I like this teacher; I don’t like the other’. What does he teach wrong? ‘It’s not that he doesn’t teach wrong, I just don’t like the way he does it.’ Well, get over it. Maybe that’s why the Lord has him in your life. He’s presenting the truth, but he’s doing it in a different way. He has the same truth, the same doctrine, but he has his own style. ‘Well, Lord, maybe I have to learn to accept.’

So, Romans 2:16, Paul wrote to the Romans about “the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” So, “do not go on passing judgment before the time,” verse 5. God will do the ultimate judging. That’s why we are responsible biblically to be biblical. That’s where I don’t know where to go when people come to say, ‘well, its not about doctrine.’ Well, you have your opinion, I have mine, someone else has theirs, we have different opinions. Let’s focus on the doctrine, the truth. And the other? Maybe its not the way you would do it. Maybe its not the way I would do it. Some of you remember when we did the carpet in the building. Um, I know some of you remember, because you remind me, but I said, ‘Oh, stop, stop, we can’t put that carpet in the building.’ So, they sent all the carpet layers home. And someone, I won’t say who, Don’s name is,(ha, ha), he said to me, ‘oh, I guess that’s what you teach us.’ ‘Bring the carpet layers back, put that ugly carpet in, I don’t care.’ Well, now I walk around and think, its fine, looks good. ‘I’m leaving this church, they’re putting in carpet, I don’t agree with.’ Really, that’s what it comes down to, right? But I needed to be reminded, rebuked, the bible doesn’t say what kind of carpet to put down. We’re not going to divide over that. So, ok, you have your own opinion. You would do it a totally different way. It doesn’t matter, what’s the doctrine here?

Verse 6, “Now these things, brethren I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes.” So, he’s talked about, in verse 22 of chapter 3 for example, Paul, Apollos, Cepheus, he’s used them as examples, but there may be others in the church at Corinth. Apollos came and followed Paul, we looked at that in Acts 18, so it could be some were identified, some had become familiar with Peter, and it may have been individuals in the church. ‘I like this teacher, I don’t like this teacher.’ I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.” That’s the point, it doesn’t matter, the truth matters. So, you do like Apollos, and he was better than Paul. ‘You have this teacher, and boy, and after they are done, I guess I won’t come anymore’. We have to be careful. We are human beings, and the Lord is working. “So that no one of you will not become arrogant on behalf of one against the other.” That’s what Paul… I use these examples, it may not be Paul and Apollos, but that doesn’t matter, the point is, you get the idea. We don’t focus on the man. We focus on the truth that the man is bringing. And that’s the key. And each of us are different, each of us have our own personality, our own way, but the key is, is He biblical? We have a variety of teachers in this church. And each one has a little different way of expressing himself. But yes, I appreciate that. It made me think about it a little differently than I had. So that we don’t become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. And that’s the danger.

And then we go beyond, so you “learn not to exceed what is written.”0 He’s had five quotations in these first chapters. Let me just draw you attention to them. Chapter 1:19, and you can tell, because the quotations from the Old Testament are set off in all capitol letters. So, in chapter 1:19, “For it is written”, then you will note, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” That’s quoting from Isaiah 29:14. So, you want to be careful you don’t exceed what is written. There are issues they ought to be standing against but they are not things that are written in the scripture they ought to stand against. They are standing for and against things, and they’ve got confused. Chapter 1:31, “Just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ ” Jeremiah 9:22-23. From the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. You know, I’ll destroy the wisdom of the wise, nullify the cleverness of the clever. You see the reminder, chapter 2:9, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart,” the human mind, “all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Isaiah 64:4, you have these in the margin of your bible, because you have them marked off. They are quoting from the Old Testament. Verse 19 of chapter 3, He catches the wise in their cunning, he quoted from Job 5:13. In Chapter 3:20, “The Lord knows the reasonings,” thoughts, “of the wise, that they are useless,” futile, from Psalm 94:11.

So, you see and you just pull together what the scripture has said previously. Paul is writing consistent with that. And we need to be careful, we get off, we get smart, we get wise, ‘I see things here, I know better about what carpet ought to go down.’ Who says? What does the scripture say? So, somebody else made the decision. Well, I support it because I support them. God gave them the authority in that area, He didn’t give me. “So that no one of you will become arrogant… one against the other.”

Verse 7, “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” The questions here -- “Who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you have not received?” -- everything we have that makes us effective in serving the Lord, comes from the Lord. So, why do I have the idea that I should boast or exult in myself? We think, I’m superior, I have certain responsibilities God has given me. You have certain responsibilities God has given you, we appreciate that. The word of God is the ultimate authority for us all. And when I have a problem that I can’t support, the scripture doesn’t address it, well, it’s not doctrinal, then get over it, and get on with it.

Come back to Deuteronomy 8, we’ve not done any Old Testament passages, just because of time. But come back to Deuteronomy 8. Israel had this problem; the people of God are always drifting. Deuteronomy 8:11, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes, which I am commanding you today.” I mean, that’s the thing, we begin to forget the Word, so we adjust it, we don’t deny it, we just conveniently forget it. He goes on to give the warning, verse 17, “Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He will confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” And then the warning if you do forget that everything you have comes from the Lord.

So, we have our diversity, we have our unity. The doctrine, the truth of the word of God, it overrules everything. But then within that we have diversity. We have different teachers who approach things differently. They can’t change the doctrine. They can’t change the Word. But they can change the carpet, they can change the seats, they can change the meeting time, they can do a variety of things. Do we accept? Yes. It may not be the way I would do it, but that’s fine. Thank you, Lord, you’ve given them their responsibilities, and we move on.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 4. A problem with the Corinthians, and this is problem for us all, we get proud, we get arrogant. And so, “You are already filled,” verse 8, “You have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish you had become kings.” It’s like the kingdom has begun and you’re reigning and we’re just nobody’s. “I wish that you had become kings so that we might reign with you.” When the kingdom is established, all of us will be reigning. So, Paul puts them down here. “Who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You (were) already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish you had become kings… For I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.” Something is wrong. If Christ is reigning, we all will be established. But you’re acting like you are kings. You’re acting like we are nothing. Wait a minute, we appreciate one another and what God is doing. We’re just men.
The apostles, verse 9 “I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.” Something is wrong here, and yet they didn’t see it. They didn’t see it all the way back in the days of the apostles. Men like Paul, Peter, a unique man like Apollos, but you treated them like they are nothing. The Corinthian church had become its own blown-up bubble. Yet Paul says, you are believers. But you are not growing, you’re not maturing.

He has drawn three contrasts in verse 10, “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.” Something is wrong here. We are fools but you are prudent? We are weak, but you are strong? You are distinguished but we are without honor? We want to be careful. We look at one another, we get exulted about one another, we think we’re… and what are we? What do we have that we haven’t received? And we have received what we received, to be part of a body that Christ has established. We need to appreciate one another. We realize, yes, so-and-so has weaknesses, so-and-so has weakness, everyone does. But we appreciate their strength, we appreciate what God has done in their life. And we come alongside, to balance, not to change them, necessarily, but to be strong where they are weak. Because they are strong where we are weak. And the development.

Look at verses 11-13, you’ll note they begin, verse 11, “To this present hour, verse 13 concludes, even until now. This present hour, even until now. This is in contrast with the Philippians. “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.” This is in contrast to them, you are already filled, verse 8, you’ve already become rich, you’ve become kings to this present hour. We’re just the opposite. We’re just dragging, getting by, we’re not honored. “I do not write these things to shame you.” Well, in a way he is, but he has to get their attention. Who is like Christ? The Corinthians or Paul?

Let me read you Isaiah 53:2, “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” One writer, writes very perceptively, but part of the reason why Paul’s stand seems so alien to many of us, is we have unwittingly become more like Corinthian Christians than like Pauline Christians. Many of us are well-to-do and comfortable with little incentive to live in vibrant anticipation of Christ’s return. I mean, we get so involved in this world, we have less and less time. I remember speaking with my brother-in-law, who pastored in a large church in southern California, he’s been with the Lord for some thirty years now, he was ten years older than me, he died just after he turned sixty. First pastor of that church that made sixty. He said to me, way back when, I have 3000 people attending on Sunday morning, I have 100 coming on Sunday evening. I said, well, that’s California, they just don’t. But the time… and we shrink, and we shrink, and we have less time, because we filled it with things. We want to be careful, are we really living out what we claim to believe? We get so involved and this becomes a problem for the coming generation. We have older, white-haired people, then we have the next generation, the next generation. Are we becoming conformed to the world? Are we becoming conformed and staying conformed to Christ?

He wraps it up in verses 14 and following. Again, you can get more details if you want. Christ, during His earthly ministry, made clear He was rejected by men. He was not honored by men. And those who were His followers, could expect the same.

1 Peter, let me just read you some verses, and then we’ll look at just some highlights at the closing verses here. 1 Peter 4:12-14, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing;” What? That doesn’t affect my rejoicing, because it’s my relationship that determines my emotions, my feelings. “So that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” Paul wrote the same thing to the Romans when he reminded them in Romans 8:16 and following, “The Spirit Himself testifies,” bears witness, “with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Hm. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Paul’s last letters, 2 Timothy, written to Timothy, a man who was going to carry on the ministry along with others that Paul had started, 2 Timothy 1:8, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.” Then in 2 Timothy 3, beginning in verse 10, “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me!” But he’s not going to be rescued out of this one. This is his last letter.

“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Now, I think about that, have I been persecuted? Have you been persecuted? “All, who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” ‘Well, I’m glad we don’t live in a country where we’d be persecuted.’ I wonder where we would be. We sort of just shrink, just over time. ‘Well, you know, it’s a burden to come to church. I listen some on the internet. It’s a burden to come back on Sunday night. It’s a burden to come on Wednesday night.’ And then we raise a generation, well, where do they cut back? ‘Well, we’ve cut back everything until Sunday morning, and now Sunday morning, well, they don’t come back on Sunday morning regularly.’ “All who desire.” Now do you believe the word of God? That’s 1 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” That doesn’t mean we’re going out now, and we’re gong to find people, you know, we’re going to do things that people will react against. No, the Devil is smart, he just makes it more comfortable, easier. And it’s just a little by little, that’s why Paul had to write that.

So, “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.” I love you, that’s why I write this to you. “For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.” Remember, I was the one who brought the gospel to you, you were saved through believing the gospel that I preached. So, I’m writing, not because I don’t like you, I’m upset. No, I want to admonish you, not shame you. Admonish you. “I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me.” Be imitators of me. Well, you want to become a fool for Christ’s sake. You want to suffer ostracism because you too are identified with Christ? But we have a balance, and the balance is called compromise. That’s where we’re back to where the Corinthians are. You know, they were thinking they could be considered wise in the world, and wise with God, and I’ve got the best of both worlds. No, Paul says, would you want to be an imitator of me? “Thererfore, I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become arrogant.” Paul has to deal with it as it is. “Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?” Paul has a balance, and the balance is you have to sometimes be firm. And sometimes you’re softer. And in all of this, we have to realize the kingdom hasn’t begun.

So, we’re going to experience some changes and transitions as a church. The kingdom hasn’t begun. I don’t know, I hope in coming months and years, the work is growing again. But I hope, number one, that the word of God is not compromised at all. That we will be faithful. And if there are empty seats next to us, then maybe the Lord will use us to go out and invite people to come. But we won’t change the truth to get people to come. And only God can change a heart. I can be an instrument He uses, as Paul was when he went to Corinth. He went there, he preached the Word, he did what he could, and people believed it. Just like the days when I would say, move over, move over, come in. Far as I know, we just preached the Word. And people talked to their friends, talked to their families. Maybe we need that again. Now you can say, we have a person, he was trained as an attorney, now he’s a pastor, you ought to come hear him, see what you think. It’s an opportunity, not because of the man, but because of the message, because of the truth.

So, Paul wraps this up. “What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?” Obviously, his rod is just a correcting rod. And he is sure that most of them are believers. But he is concerned. So, we want to be sure.

We’re going to stop our study of 1 Corinthians there. Next week, I want to do a mixture of things that I haven’t already decided yet. But I’ll work on that next week. Let’s have a word of prayer together. Thank you, Lord, for Your word. Thank you for the riches. Thank you for the church at Corinth, Lord, a church like us in many ways. A church that has prospered. A church that You have blessed. Lord, at times we are stretched. We need to be reminded of the truth. Reminded that Your Spirit works in each one of us as believers. We want to not be taken up with incidentals, with nonessentials; realize there are differences. You have called each one of us to salvation in Christ. You have given us Your Spirit to direct. Lord, pray that we would be faithful to You. That we would be faithful to one another. Faithful to the truth and faithful to accepting the differences and supporting one another in the ministry that You’ve given us. We look forward to what You have for us as a church in the days ahead. We pray that Your Spirit will work mightily as we are submissive to Him. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.